Issue link: http://businessnc.epubxp.com/i/108217
TIMCO AvIATIOn ServICeS InC. First in Flight TIMCO Aviation Services Inc. is exploring opportunities for expansion at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro to meet the growing service needs of airlines. Our rails cover 20,000 miles. Our people go the extra mile. At Norfolk Southern, we work to increase efficiencies for the ports and shippers we serve. Take our new, 200-acre Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, projected to bring billions in economic growth. With the interchange now complete on I-485, the airport will seamlessly integrate road, rail, air, and sea freight. Some would call that going the extra mile. We call it business as usual. Visit www.nscorp.com or call 855-NOR-FOLK for more information. Visit www.cltairport.com or email info@cltairport.com. © 2013 Norfolk Southern Corp., Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, Va. 23510, www.nscorp.com, 855-NOR-FOLK precision-manufacturing curriculum at South Piedmont Community College in Polkton that will sharpen the competitive edge of the manufacturing workforce. Nelson says a quality precision-manufacturing workforce is a critical prerequisite for the next wave of U.S. economic growth. Math aptitude, problem-solving capacity and critical-thinking skills are in strong demand at his company. "My primary talking point with any elected ofÀcial is workforce development. We need people who are good at grasping complexity and Àguring it out." Such skills help keep Turbomeca and the other North Carolina aerospace and aviation manufacturers competitive. "We operate on a very lean, fast lead-time business model." His company's collaboration with the school, which now includes an apprenticeship program, will yield dividends beyond the aerospace and aviation cluster. "This will help all the precision manufacturers in the region." Universities in North Carolina also are meeting the same needs that Nelson is calling for. Complementing community-college programs are university-level instruction and applied-research programs designed to support the state's aerospace and aviation companies. Lord, for example, recently inked a new research agreement with N.C. State. "N.C. State will be a leading university partner to Lord, particularly through the college of engineering," Austin says. The agreement, signed in July 2012, provides a more systematic guide for the company and university than the series of contracts the two had assembled on a case-by-case basis over the past few years. Potentially thorny matters such as intellectual property, conÀdentiality and royalties will not have to be rehashed before every project. N.C. State also is providing valuable technical leadership for the industry through its NextGen Air Transportation Center. Part of the university's Institute for Transportation Research and Education, the center gathers expertise from government, academia and the business community in crafting and evaluating solutions for airspace management, Áight safety, weather-related challenges and air-navigation. "We work directly with industry and government R&D; agencies and have the capacity to draw faculty and students from a wide variety of academic B u s i n e s s n C